Not Taco Bell Material

By: Adam Carolla

Narrated by: Adam Carolla

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

In his second book, Adam Carolla - chart-topping podcaster and author of New York Times best seller In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks - reveals all the stories behind how he came to be the angry middle-aged man he is today.

Funnyman Adam Carolla is known for two things: hilarious rants about things that drive him crazy and personal stories about everything from his hardscrabble childhood to his slacker friends to the hypocrisy of Hollywood. He tackled rants in his first book, and now he tells his best stories and debuts some never-before-heard tales as well.

Organized by the myriad "dumps" Carolla called home as a child - through the flophouse apartments he rented in his 20s, up to the homes he personally renovated after achieving success in Hollywood - the anecdotes here follow Adam's journey and the hilarious pitfalls along the way.

Adam Carolla started broke and blue collar and has now been on the Hollywood scene for over 15 years. Yet he never lost his underdog demeanor. He's still connected to the working class guy he once was, and delivers a raw and edgy, fish-out-of-water take on the world in which he lives (but with which he mostly disagrees), telling all the stories, no matter who he offends - family, friends or the famous.

©2012 Adam Carolla (P)2012 Random House Audio

Tells It As He Sees It

Where does Not Taco Bell Material rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

When I am ready for a good laugh, after listening to several audiobooks on more serious topics, I love to relisten to Adam's book. He is refreshingly blunt in this day and age of "politically correctness".

What did you like best about this story?

His stories are funny. His rants are real. He says things people can relate to and other people think, but can not verbalize in this day and age.

What about Adam Carolla’s performance did you like?

He is authentic; I find his performance refreshing. He is the only person who can drop the F bomb without making me bristle.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really

Any additional comments?

If you find humor in Archie Bunker and his rants, you'll enjoy this book.

good book but isn't the audio book for the book

whole thing is entertaining and if you like the Aceman you will enjoy. But you don't get the book, he skips entire chapters. He just tells you to buy the book, this is the exact type of thing he would rant about if it happened to him. I'm not going to buy your hardcopy Adam! I also probably won't buy another one of your audio books because I WILL NOT BE MANIPULATED in buying your book twice. I just won't buy anymore of your audio books.

Carolla is an excellent story teller

I never imagined this book would have so much great content. And Adam telling the story is better than somebody else just reading the book. One of my all time favorites

funniest book ever

nonstop laughs the entire length of the book. Adam does a great narrative that would be hard to match by reading alone. The delivery is perfect. Will buy his other books.

adam is funny like always

the chapter about his friend ray was just funniest stuff I have heard in awhile

Why read this if you're not a fan?

What did you love best about Not Taco Bell Material?

The audio version of this book is filled with Ace-man tangents and diatribes not in the print edition. For those that are familiar with Adam's talent for such things, this is extremely satisfying. I dont understand the other reviewers, who obviously weren't fans of Adam to begin with, picking up this book and being surprised at the profanity and lack of filial piety. This is likely not the book for you if you think everyone should be proud of their parents and not talk badly about them. And definitely not the book for you if you're offended by potty humor. My girlfriend isn't a fan of that kind of humor, but she wouldnt take the time to write a review about Adam's book deploring it. I'm not truly a fan of potty humor but it's completely endurable given Adam's affinity for story-telling.

What about Adam Carolla’s performance did you like?

Adam's tangents and diatribes - classic to his type of story telling. Also his ability to make analogies.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

"Moved" me? No. Having listened to Adam for years a lot of these stories are familiar (although better in the long-form here). I did like his ending words about willing himself to succeed. Definitely a good message.

Any additional comments?

To reiterate: If you are NOT familiar with Adam Carolla this may not be the book for you. Every low-rated review I saw for this book was someone who was surprised at the blasphemy and D&F jokes. I was not thrilled with the first book and looked up the negative reviews to try and compare this book to the last book. I enjoyed this book more than the first one.

Do yourself a favor and buy both print and audio.

What did you love best about Not Taco Bell Material?

The chapter about Ray is the most entertaining thing I've ever heard in an audiobook. I've played the whole chapter for a few people, and every time we were all in stitches.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ray Oldhafer's chapter is the funniest thing I've ever heard on an audiobook.

What about Adam Carolla’s performance did you like?

Carolla's ranting never gets old. He just can't stick to the manuscript, and that's why you must get both. Just awesome.

This book is Taco Bell material

Very enjoyable book. I wish it was longer I didn't want it to come to an end.

Polished Carolla

Loved it???.. totally worth spending a credit, very fun to hear these stories told by the author. Each chapter is filled with fun and impressive stories backed up with thoughtful life lessons. This book should be considered therapy for both Carolla and the reader. I kind of hate his mom after hearing some of the crappy things she put him through.

Very funny book read by a master of storytelling

The only criticism is that if you've been listening to Adam for a while then you'll have already heard the majority of the stories in this book.